Themes of Hopelessness in Herman Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener Essa

We can never be one hundred percent certain of the validity of our literary analyses. This is especially the case with Herman Melville’s â€Å"Bartleby the Scrivener†. Critics have been trying for decades to make sense of the text and most will describe it as â€Å"inscrutable†. I don’t claim to know better than the critics, but instead offer my own interpretation of the work. Based on my observations and analysis, Melville’s use of many elements in his story—first and foremost the character of Bartleby, but also the dead letters, the many walls of Wall Street, and the state of Wall Street itself—works well to develop a sense of hopelessness, whether intentional or not, in the story as well as the narrator and consequently the reader. This hopelessness could stem from a number of influences, such as a certain â€Å"incurable disorder† which some critics would argue is schizophrenia (Wilson), the quality of human futility in gene ral, or the capitalist society in which Melville’s characters’ lives play out. In order to understand Bartleby’s influence on the hopeless atmosphere of the story, we must first understand the character of Bartleby and how he differs greatly from the others. Bartleby is described as having a â€Å"cadaverously gentlemanly nonchalance† (1096) and being solitary, friendless and lonely; â€Å"like a very ghost† (1095). Mitchell, in his critical essay, also observes that â€Å"Bartleby seems incapable of recognizing the possibility of hope.† (Mitchell) Finally, Bartleby is apathetic and whenever something is requested of him he simply replies â€Å"I would prefer not to.† The lawyer, on the other hand is intensely focused on the values of Wall Street such as money, productivity and usefulness. Bartleby proves a great frustration to the lawye... ...y not know the cause of Bartleby's suffering, but he does know that Bartleby's despair can lead only to death† (Mitchell). Works Cited Inge, M Thomas. Bartleby the Inscrutable: A Collection of Commentary on Herman Melville’s Tale â€Å"Bartleby the Scrivener†. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1979. Print. Wilson, James C. â€Å"’Bartleby’: The Walls of Wall Street.† Arizona Quarterly 37.4 (Winter 1981): 335-346. Literature Resource Center. Web. 13 April 2015. Mitchell, Thomas R. â€Å"Dead Letter and Dead Men: Narrative Purpose in ‘Bartleby, the Scrivener.’.† Studies in Short Fiction. 27.3 (Summer 1990): 329-338. Literature Resource Center. Web. 13 April 2015. Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew. â€Å"Doing Justice to Bartleby† ATQ: A Journal of American Nineteenth Century Literature and Culture n.s. 17.1 (March 2003): 23-42. Literature Resource Center. Web. 13 April 2015.